


A Light to His Darkness

by BardicRaven



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Episode: s03e07 Draw Back Your Bow, Episode: s03e08 The Brave and the Bold, Episode: s03e09 The Climb, Extreme, Gen, Innocence, Philosophy, Worldview
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 11:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2849612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardicRaven/pseuds/BardicRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perhaps it is indeed naive to think that the extremes of society can be handled by less than extreme measures.</p><p>But it is that very naivete, that very innocence, that is the saving of them both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. On Extremes and Innocents

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kikibug13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikibug13/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Lyla: There are people in the world who deal only in extremes._   
> _Oliver: And it would be naïve to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them. ___
> 
> ##### S3E8 – The Brave and the Bold

***********

Perhaps it is indeed naive to think that the extremes of society can be handled by less than extreme measures.

But it is that very naivete, that very innocence, that is the saving of them both.

As much as the innocence needs the extreme to survive, the reverse is also true.

For the willingness to do what is ugly is a slippery slope, sliding down inevitably into the darkness, and the damnation of the soul.

It is the Innocents who catch them, transmute that darkness into endless shades of grey, providing salvation for them both.

For the Innocent, the salvation is to be able to see the World as it is, to protect themselves from endless heartbreak and loss.

For the Extreme, the salvation is to be able to see the World as it could be, to protect themselves from endless regret and despair.

There is a point at which they do not understand the other's point of view, but that is less important than that they are there for each other.

Lover or friend, makes no difference.

What is important is the opposition of worldview that brings the two into balance.


	2. A Light to His Darkness – Barry Allen and Oliver Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"We had a... difference of opinion as to how the world works."_   
> 
> 
> ##### -Oliver Queen, S3E8 'The Brave and the Bold'

***********

Barry Allen and Oliver Queen are friends. 

Heroes.

Fellow adventurers on a Quest for Justice.

But they are also opposites.

Barry Allen, for all his tragedy, remains, at heart, an Innocent. He lives, as Oliver Queen has said on more than one occasion, in a city where it's sunny all the time, metaphorically, if not physically.

Oliver Queen, because of all his tragedy, believes, in his heart, in Extremes. Shades of grey are among the many luxuries he had to give up during his time in hell. Life became black and white and thus survived for another day.

Tragedy is still tragedy, no matter what the age, but still, it is also true that Time heals all wounds, in this life or another.

One tragedy when young, while life-changing, is more easily survived than many more once the initial flexibility of youth has passed.

This is not about better or worse, or who has more right to pain.

This is not excuse.

It is explanation.

And one explanation is that the two of them need each other.

To call each other on their crap.

To free each other from their prisons.

To remind each other that there is more than one way to inspire, more than one scale on which to save.

Above all, to remind each other that the world needs them both.


	3. A Light to His Darkness – Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her light shines bright enough to let him go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Lyla: Yup. I know what that's like._   
> _Oliver: Well, sometimes they don't see it._   
> _Lyla: There are people in the world who deal only in extremes._   
> _Oliver: And it would be naïve to think that anything less than extreme measures will stop them._   
> _Lyla: Sometimes bravery's not enough. Sometimes the world requires us to be bold._   
> _Oliver: Whatever the personal cost._
> 
> _{silence}_  
>     
> 
> 
> ##### S3E8 – The Brave and the Bold

Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen are lovers.

Friends.

Fellow adventurers on a Quest for Justice.

There are times, however, when the two of them stare at each other across a gulf that literally spans universes. 

Felicity does not pretend to understand this world of honor that Oliver lives in. She lives in a world of logic and silicon and is content to do so.

She respects his choices, sometimes a little too much. But then, as much as you can show someone that the light at the end of the tunnel is not an on-coming train, they have to be willing to believe you.

And sometimes the best thing you can do for a friend is to let them drown.

So that is why she stands there, gaping like a fish on dry land (and she is certainly out of her element here) as he walks away.

Her light shines bright enough for her to realize that he must choose it for himself, learn his own lessons about family and love and worthiness.

She cannot and will not do it for him.

As much as she might want to.

It is not only for her sake but his, that she lets him go, to learn the harsh lessons about what being a hero really means.

Tempered steel lasts the longest, after all.

And she knows they have a long, long way to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting tidbit...
> 
> ##### When I first wrote this bit down, this is what came onto the pixelated page, tho' not what I, as BardicRaven, had meant:
> 
> ##### 
>
>> There are times, however, when the two of them stare at each other across a gulf that literally expands universes. (I'm leaving the typo because I think it is significant. The word I was looking for, however, is 'spans'. Just for the record. :D )
> 
> -B!
> 
> ##### P.S. Not the way I originally intended this to go, so there may be more than just the next chapter that came to me as I was finishing up this bit.
> 
> Happy Hollydays and Enjoy! :-)


	4. A Light to His Darkness – John Diggle and Oliver Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diggle reminds them both of what they are truly fighting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Diggle: Lyla is preparing a late dinner if you want to join._
> 
> ***
> 
> _Oliver: I know it's late, but..._  
>  _Diggle: That was the invitation._
> 
> S3E7: Draw Back Your Bow

John Diggle and Oliver Queen are friends. 

Fighters.

Fellow adventurers on a Quest for Justice.

As Lyla, his once and future wife, has said, John Diggle is also among those who Do Not Get It about the extremes and extreme measures.

He too is a warrior, so he is not blind to the realities of their chosen professions.

But he also holds out the hope that some day, some how, their job will no longer be necessary.

He shows Oliver that life can be lived in the small things: a dinner around the table, the soft cry of a child of your body.

He reminds the Arrow that there is another way, a way to fight that does not involve fear and pain and endless loss.

He reminds Oliver that daring to risk your heart for the promise of NOW is not a fool's errand, does not automatically bring death to those you love.

And above all, he reminds them both of what they are truly fighting for.


End file.
